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SavageLlama
08-30-2004, 23:43
What are your favorite trail dinners? I need some new ideas, as I'm getting sick of eating my one and only meal: Tuna Mac & Cheese (everyone knows this one)

Ingredients:
2 - packets of Kraft EZ Mac & Cheese
1 - packet of Tuna

Heat pasta for a few minutes and throw in the tuna, which soaks up the extra water. Easy, filling meal with protein.

Other recipes??

Jaybird
08-31-2004, 05:46
my fave foods on my section hikes are prepared by that great chef:

Mountain House! Yummy! :D

MedicineMan
08-31-2004, 06:04
discovered after vehicle breakdown and shopping at a truck stop:

2 packs ramen noodles
1 pack beef jerky

serves 2

enhance with those small packs of parmersian cheese/tabasco

The Hog
08-31-2004, 06:55
Premix the following ingredients at home (in whatever proportion suits your fancy). On the trail, I like to cook this over a wood fire for about 10-12 minutes, but if you're using a stove, you can simmer for about 5 minutes, let sit another five, and enjoy!

Basmati rice
refried bean powder
tomato powder
sun dried tomatoes
dried chipotle chile(s)
dried red & green peppers
chili powder
one clove garlic, minced or mashed
dried cilantro
dried parsley
bay leaf
cumin
oregano
basil
black pepper
cheddar cheese powder

You can also add dehydrated onions, but the aftereffects will reduce your popularity in camp.

tarbubble
08-31-2004, 12:52
i just ate this on day 4 of a 6-day trip. one of my companions made it and it was dang good. he had a packet of the Mary Jane's "couch potato" mashed potatoes, then added a pouch of tuna and the hot water. it was amazingly good and i'm going to have it along on my next trip.

Jersey Bob
08-31-2004, 14:46
at least 10 characters

kncats
08-31-2004, 15:10
Stove Top stuffing, a pack of instant gravy and a foil pouch of chicken or turkey. It helps to have something else to put the stuffing in to let it soak up the hot water. Make the gravy in your pan after boiling water for stuffing, add the meat.

baseballswthrt
08-31-2004, 16:23
I'll have to second the stuffing and gravy and chicken! It was the best thing we've had on the trail and easy if you have 2 containers. We used our washing-up basin (cut down gallon milk jug that fits inside our pot) to mix the stuffing and made the gravy in the pot.

Anita

Tin Man
08-31-2004, 23:07
We like Quesadillas on night 2 of a section hike.

Heat a little oil.
Drop in a tortilla
2 or 3 kinds of cheese
packaged chicken
favorite spices
Cover with 2nd tortilla
Flip once
Heat until cheese is melted.

Repeat until all parties have eaten.

1st night is Steak, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob...with a nice Cab. :D

Night 3 through 5 are the usual assortments of rice-a-roni or Lipton dinners or things in a cup that you just add hot water, stir, and wait 5 minutes including chili, corn chowder, and pasta dishes. Scotch usually kills any nasty after taste. ;)

Rain Man
08-31-2004, 23:37
There is another similar thread.

I posted one of my favorite recipes, for camp fire pizza. Yum, yum.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3004

Rain Man

.

grrickar
09-01-2004, 09:42
Besides jerky, you can now find prepackaged chicken and precooked ground beef at the grocery stores. I found both at a Wal-Mart supercenter. The ground beef was in a large foil pack on the aisle with Spam and Vienna Sausages, and they had different varieties (italian and mexican are the two I saw). Sweet Sue had chucks of white chicken in foil packs as well - no refridgeration required. With those sort of options, why buy dehydrated?

Cook up some shell pasta, add some tomato paste, throw in the ground beef, and add some cheese and make cheeseburger casserole.

Rain Man
09-01-2004, 10:23
Yes, and now some supermarkets in the South and Super Wal-Mart are carrying new, 3.3 oz foil packages of shrimp, smoked oysters, clams, crab, and faux-crab. Yum yum!!! Made by Chicken of the Sea brand.

Rain Man

.

food
09-01-2004, 10:48
ingredients:

A packet of Idahoan mashed potatoes - 4 cheese or roasted garlic.
A generous squirt of extra virgin olive oil
about 1 and half oz of bacon toppings.

http://www.patrickcudahy.com/products-pgs/foodservice-5.html

Tabasco and salt to taste :jump

squirrel bait
09-01-2004, 11:00
Becareful on how many foil packs of chicken,tuna or whatever meat ya carry cause the wieght adds up fast.

grrickar
09-01-2004, 13:25
Eat the heavy stuff first ;) Tuna packs with mayo and dill relish makes an easy batch of tuna salad. You can get mayo and relish in small packs.

If you drink Crystal Light, the way they normally package it is in little plastic tubs inside a plastic tube.

TIP: Save the plastic tube, and dump in as many Ritz crackers (or any round cracker that will fit) as will fit in it. Now you can have crackers that won't be powder by the time you decide to eat them.

My experiement was with potato soup mix I found at Sam's Club. It is a large bag, and it makes 8 gallons. Yep, I said gallons, not cups. I seperated the mix into quart ziplocs, along with powdered milk, and now all I have to do is boil water, dump in the dried potatoes, wait a few then dump in the potato soup mix and the powdered milk. Very filling and lots of carbs to get you up the trail. My suggested addition would be prepackaged clams (look for them where the tuna in foil packs are) to make a chowder of sorts.

Soup mixes are light, generally easy to clean up afterward (no scraping the pots) and most of the time you just need water to add to them. You can always kick it up a notch with dried vegetables, jerky bits, tabasco, or other additions.

flyfisher
09-01-2004, 15:08
Most of my dinners start with a packet of Lipton Noodles - I like several of them. When I have the opportunity to spice them up, I put a heaping teaspoon of dry milk and a heaping tablespoon of dehydrated hamburger in the bag too.

I usually put about three pieces of beef jerky in the bag and munch on them while I am waiting for the noodles to cook in my pot cozy.

I have tried stove stop stuffing and mashed potatoes as the base for dinners, but ended up getting tired of them quickly.

Ramen noodles are my next choice if Lipton noodle dishes are not available. Mac and Cheese are OK too.

Rift Zone
09-01-2004, 19:52
Jersey Bob is right, those precooked and "shrink wrapped" ham things are great. I go for the turkey breast myself. The best way to handle them is by not handling them... I'll do my best to cut it in a fashion where the original wrapper holds on to it securely for as long as possible.


I look for versatility when it comes to pack food.

The finest pack bread ever made is the humble croissant. You may crush the hell out of them if you like. They don't care much and certainly will not crumble. They take to butter and honey as easily as a slab of turkey and some mustard.

Pine nuts are found in my pack just as often. I'll put some dried fruit in my breakfast water before it heats up and have partially reconstituted fruit and pine nuts in my morning slop. My dinner slop has sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts along with cheese and any other dried veggie/mushroom I can get my hands on.

The Mini Baby-Bel cheeses will survive harsher conditions for longer than anything else. It is only cuz of the individual wrapping. Proper handling techniques will keep a slab of cheddar cool for a decent while as well.

Those cans of sardines or oysters barely qualify for food when I'm off the trail. But I tell you, a can of oysters and some tobasco is a wonderful and rare source of pure fat and protein when you are on the trail. Put those things in a freezer bag before you get them into your pack. You DO NOT want to find out the hard way how easy the seal breaks if you compress them just right. I'm just glad I use dry-bags for food bags.

grrickar
09-01-2004, 20:39
Bagels and tortillas are also good breads that you don't have to worry about crushing.

james-skinner
09-08-2004, 11:06
A technique that I use to make stuffing and gravy is to heat enough water for both the stuffing and the gravy, add the stuffing mix to the water, stir, then add the stuffing mix and let is sit. Only one pot required that way. And to liven up everything I cook, I never leave home without a bottle of Texas Pete hot sauce.

TakeABreak
09-09-2004, 00:13
Mashed potatoes, are a good carb dinner, If you have have cup or wbowl with you, you can heat up a packed of instant gravy. pour it in the cup, when the mashed poatatoes are done pour it on, for meat a small can of chicken breast. You think it is Thanksgiving.

I've done the same with stuffing mix.

Mahatma Beans and rice is good too, a little spicy but lots of carbs and cooks quickly.

Spaghetti is good too, if you have some dehydrated sauce to heat up and re-hydrate.

A pack of noodles, some dehydrated vegetables, and a can of roast beef was favorite of mine on cool day.

cshir003
10-13-2004, 10:23
Premix the following ingredients at home (in whatever proportion suits your fancy). On the trail, I like to cook this over a wood fire for about 10-12 minutes, but if you're using a stove, you can simmer for about 5 minutes, let sit another five, and enjoy!


Basmati rice
refried bean powder
tomato powder
sun dried tomatoes
dried chipotle chile(s)
dried red & green peppers
chili powder
one clove garlic, minced or mashed
dried cilantro
dried parsley
bay leaf
cumin
oregano
basil
black pepper
cheddar cheese powder

You can also add dehydrated onions, but the aftereffects will reduce your popularity in camp.
does this make a sort of "YUM" paste or what? I'd like to try it but I want to know what to add for a nicer texture

SalParadise
10-13-2004, 18:22
What's good to a hiker? Bring one cup of water to a boil. Add 1C Anything, stir in 2C Anything Else. Serving Size: Not Enough
Peanut butter with unflavoured Ramen noodles.
Layer Nutella and peanut butter on a tortilla and add a Snickers.
GORP variation: peanuts, raisins and candy corn
peanut butter on Pop Tarts was filling

TDale
10-13-2004, 20:53
I haven't got all the proportions worked out yet but with those new foil packs of clams and oysters, dried milk, dried butter and dried potatoes you can imagine the possibility of chowder, can't you?

As soon as I order some powdered roux, I'm working on gumbo.

Megabite
10-14-2004, 15:31
near east couscous - 1 pkg
handful of dry tortellini - barilla or ronzoni, any flavor
1 pkg sweet sue chicken breast, ready to eat

boil water and couscous flavor pouch, add tortellini and cook until the pasta is halfway done, then add couscous, and cover pot. if you have a cozy, make sure it's in the cozy. while the couscous absorbs the water, and torellini will finish cooking. make sure you add a little more water than the couscous calls for, as the pasta will absorb some of it

excellent meal, pretty filling, and not too pricey

--megabite

Ramble~On
10-25-2004, 02:59
Here's one I like.

One small jar of Chunky Salsa - dehydrated into a fruit roll up texture.
One can dehydrated black olives
A couple red and green peppers sliced and dehydrated
A cup of instant rice
One foil pack of chicken breast

I put everything into a ziplock
I usually guess how much water to boil
Once its boiling I throw the contents of the ziplock in and boil for a bit
When its done I spread it on tortillas and add cheese.
Taco Bell on the Trail!!!!!!!

FatMan
10-25-2004, 22:55
Tried this new one this weekend. Lipton Asian Noodles with Chicken of the Sea Shrimp in foil pouch. Throw in some peanuts and cashews from your trail mix for added zing. Doesn't get easier than this and really tastes great. Heck, if you can't find the shrimp, the Asian Noodles alone are one of the best noodle dishes I've come across.

lostinthewoods
11-04-2004, 02:02
Try a nice pasta dish.

Lemon pepper angel hair pasta
dehydrated mushrooms
dehydrated bell peppers (red and green)
...any other veggies you like
powdered butter to give the pasta a lil flavor
Rehydrate veggies, add to pasta and coat in powdered butter and mix. Add seasoning to meet your needs.

:banana :banana
for Dessert
mix up some ready mix brownies with nuts etc in a ziplock bag.
On the trail add a cup of water to the brownie mixture and place bag into a pot of boiling water.. Mmmmmmmmmmmm Brownies.. hehe A little messy but damn good

Hydromagnt
05-14-2005, 05:45
Can someone tell me where they buy Sweet Sue chicken, in foil packs. Local Wal-Mart doesn't carry it. Thanks


Besides jerky, you can now find prepackaged chicken and precooked ground beef at the grocery stores. I found both at a Wal-Mart supercenter. The ground beef was in a large foil pack on the aisle with Spam and Vienna Sausages, and they had different varieties (italian and mexican are the two I saw). Sweet Sue had chucks of white chicken in foil packs as well - no refridgeration required. With those sort of options, why buy dehydrated?

Cook up some shell pasta, add some tomato paste, throw in the ground beef, and add some cheese and make cheeseburger casserole.

The Hog
05-14-2005, 06:12
does this make a sort of "YUM" paste or what? I'd like to try it but I want to know what to add for a nicer texture

As long as it's not overcooked, the basmati rice holds its texture well. I would describe it as having the texture of a Spanish rice dish. I've made variations of the recipe, sometimes adding freeze dried peas and freeze dried beef, and enough hot peppers to turn your digestive system into a magma chamber. We're talking Scoville units here.

Big Dawg
05-14-2005, 09:42
Can someone tell me where they buy Sweet Sue chicken, in foil packs. Local Wal-Mart doesn't carry it. Thanks
I buy my sweet sue chicken foil pkts from Lowes grocery store, here in Jamestown, NC,,,,, I've not found them anywhere else.

kjumper1
10-25-2005, 04:34
i like using a bag or two of Minute Rice, throw in a foil pack of chicken, add a dash of tobasco sauce and viola! guaranteed to fill ya up. u can even find the instant rice pouches that have dehydrated brocoli in em. there r dozens of different rice mixtures to choose from.

fiddlehead
10-25-2005, 08:29
If you have an asian grocery store nearby, here's my favorite: "Thai Panang Curry" with noodles or rice. Get some powdered coconut milk, some Panang or red curry paste (in a bag or jar (which you would have to repackage into a ziplock)), and some dry shrimps they always sell in asian grocerys. (they are very lightweight and i usually buy a lot and then freeze them till i need them). Cook rice or noodles (i find that noodles give me more power but this is originally a rice dish) and add the shrimps when you start the water as they won't completely rehydrate but will be fine. add the curry paste and coconut powder to taste. generally the two offset each other in the spicy/sweet department and that in itself is the key to thai cooking. Add any other dried veggies you happen to have or like. I dry my own brocolli and oninons and even carrots sometimes and this makes a fairly authentic thai specialty. enjoy!


It's very lightweight too.

CaptChaos
10-27-2005, 23:19
If there are a couple of us I have made the following:

1) Take a can of SPAM or use SPAM Lite, cut it up into small cubes and put in your pan and cook until you believe it is done.

2) After cooking the SPAM then add your water that is required for the next item and let it boil with the SPAM in the water.

3) Once your water boils then turn off heat and add the Idahoan mashed potatoes.

4) Stir everything up and after you have mixed it up it is ready.

I like this as it only takes one pot, it seems to be filling. When we packed from New Found Gap to Cades Cove several years ago, this was a very good meal 3 days into our trip.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
10-28-2005, 07:21
Echoing Fiddlehead's advice to shop at an Asian grocer - there are many yummy things to be found there that adapt well to the trail.

Does anyone here dehydrate tuna or minced turkey / chicken breast? I've been doing this for years - very light and tasty.

Cookerhiker
10-28-2005, 08:29
At home, grind about 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts in a blender and place in baggy. Add whatever flavoring you desire - ground black pepper, dried onions, herbs, dried red pepper, etc. On the trail, cook your "starch" - I prefer bulgur wheat which takes about 10 minutes but I also use brown success rice, whole wheat pasta (macaroni, ziti, shells) and occasionally whole-grain couscous. Save some of the cooking water, add the peanut mixture, and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Tasty and protein-packed.

I also bring fresh garlic and use 1-2 cloves per meal.

Freighttrain
10-28-2005, 09:24
sometimes i go "no-cook" so i dont need to carry pot, lid, stove, windscreen, potstand, and fuel

this makes a filling great tasting caserole... and when your done, the bag is a trash bag


1 qt freezer ziploc origional type
1 chicken raman
1 pk or can chicken, tuna, ham, or poted meat
2-3 packets mayo
1 packet mustard

breakup the raman real small and dump into the ziploc.. top off with water and let stand 15 minutes
drain off extra water when done and add raman flavor packet the mayo and mustard and mix well turnin bag end over end.. then add your favorite meat and mix

you can change it up w packets from all over.. Arbys BK McDs
most places will give you a handfull of packets if you offer to buy them

Egads
10-09-2008, 17:34
What's for dinner?

Chaco Taco
10-09-2008, 21:49
Here are a couple of things I picked up on from some other thru's
1-2 pks of roasted chicken ramen
spicy peanuts
chuncky peanut butter
1 soy sauce packet
1 foil pack of chicken
some siracha sauce or known as "cock' sauce ( hey it has the rooster on thh bottle) I used this stuff alot
add some garlic and some ginger, keeps really well on the trail, just used a granite gear compression container to store it

Great meal on trail and gives you what you need

Chaco Taco
10-09-2008, 21:50
Oh yea, you can add tuna to it in place of chicken

budforester
10-09-2008, 22:26
I haven't got all the proportions worked out yet but with those new foil packs of clams and oysters, dried milk, dried butter and dried potatoes you can imagine the possibility of chowder, can't you?

As soon as I order some powdered roux, I'm working on gumbo.

Backpack chowders are great on a cold day; I must follow your suggestion and try some foil- packs. Unfortunately, I don’t have the patience to wait for potato chunks to rehydrate… I just settle for instant.

If you wish to experiment with DIY roux, it’s just toasted flour: light roux for Creole gumbo and dark roux for Cajun- style. Roux is easy enough to make in camp, too: stir equal measures of grease and flour over low heat until it reaches the right color.

charlie2008
10-10-2008, 02:45
Another one pot thread that has some real tasty idea's.
-
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10970

Hooch
10-10-2008, 06:29
A pack of Idahoan mashed potatoes (any variety you like) and a pack of smoked oysters. Yum! Thanks for the idea Ewker!

Wags
10-11-2008, 23:17
cup of ramen (any flavor but beef) and a pack of chicken of the sea precooked salmon. just had some for lunch today mmm

Gorp-Gobbler
10-12-2008, 19:51
Being a certified chef try adding any variety of herbs such as Basil, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, etc,etc. They will enhance the flavors of the pasta and tuna. You might also try cutting up summer sausage and perhaps some dry onion flakes (or even fresh onion, however a little heavy) with garlic and throw in some crushed chips of any variety and perhaps some dry cheese sauce mix.
A little chicken or beef bouillion crushed up and sprinkled in will make for a nice flavor enhancer.

Grinder
10-19-2008, 17:25
i haven't seen this one listed yet.

Lipton side: creamy broccolli
salmon in a pouch/ chipotl mango sauce

Smells good, tastes better!!

Grinder